Hoodoos, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND
The Dakota Territory, the northwest corner of the land acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase, was originally much larger than the area of the two present Dakotas. When originally created in 1861, it included much of present-day Montana and Wyoming, part of Nebraska as well as all of the present-day Dakotas. By 1868, the Territory had been reduced to the present boundaries of the current Dakotas.
It was divided just below the 46th parallel when the two states entered the Union in 1889 as a ploy by Republicans to add two additional Senators. It would have been more logical to create East and West Dakota as both halves of the former territory are divided by the Missouri River, a natural border, which enters in the northwest and leaves it in the southeast.
Places That I Love
For the vast majority of my career, my own photography was an afterthought. Very soon after I started working professionally as a photojournalist, I became a full-time academic and for more than 40 years, my students came first. We traveled the world together, but my role was that of an editor and mentor, not a photographer. Rarely would I have time for my own work. Of course, that was of my choosing and it was a gift, not a burden.
Toward the end of my career, my teaching and advising focus shifted from undergraduate to graduate students, who were allowed to travel without a faculty escort. This allowed me time for some personal projects and assignments, and time to travel with family and friends, something I still do today.
This gallery has no thematic or geographic parameters, it’s just a grouping of photographs from places that I love, places that evoke special memories or moments that I enjoyed experiencing.
